Dream a little dream of me
Grace recognised the song before she even opened the door of the study. The lilting baseline, the crushed chords… how could she forget it? It had a delicious swing to it, and she leaned against the wall, smiling at the pleasure of everything she had missed as the player moved into the bridge, and then back into the verse, with the extra rhythm for the brass…It was the one she had performed at the club, although she wondered how he would have known… She pushed the door open and stood over Pip's shoulder as he spread the last chord into an arpeggio, leaning back as it ran all the way up the keyboard, laughing at the ridiculousness of it, at the glamourised, over-the-top, music-hall sound…
She laughed too, and he turned around, smiling, still as small as ever. "Grace! You're back! Brilliant!" He leapt up- he was still as full of energy as ever- and did one of his whirling dances around the room. She joined in, laughing, and it was quite some time before they sat down again, breathless and grinning from ear to ear. "I've missed you." He said it matter-of-factly, piling music into slippery banks on the top of the piano. "I know," she said, realising the truth as she said it. "I've missed you, too." All the telephone conversations in the world couldn't be a substitute for this- his eyes, his hair parted to the side, those hands, and the way he played… He patted the stool next to him. "Come on. Sit up here and sing. Have you been practising anything?" She smiled and sat, feeling uncomfortable and delighted at their proximity to each other… "Nothing much, just theatre stuff. But I can sing from the music now, if you like."
"Brilliant! I've got something, actually…"
She held her breath. "What?"
"It's from a while back… Max found the music for me, in New Bond Street- he took me to this massive music shop- it's brilliant! There were shelves full of it, and instruments, and records- you'd love it!"
She took the music- and smiled at the irony. "Yes, this is perfect! There's a problem though…it's for two voices." He shrugged.
"That's fine, I can sing while playing the piano. And the person who sings it on the record isn't an opera singer, anyway! It'll be fine!"
They tried it out- it sounded good, she thought, although Pip complained that he couldn't seem to sing in key. "You're fine! Anyway, like you said…" He rolled his eyes.
"The person on the recording isn't an opera singer, I know, I know! Right! From the top!"
They sang it all the way through, their voices blending together with the sound of the piano that managed to mimic a full band, became a complete orchestra that echoed through the room, making Grace's eyes blur with tears and her heart beat faster. The last line hung in the air, making the distance between them seem strange even after the sustain pedal bounced up with a clunk and the last of the music faded. "Grace, they've got a good film on next week at the Troxy. I was wondering if- if you'd like to come with me. Jeffries has to work a late shift at the publisher's, and Henry's on set till ten- would you like to come with me? It's a romance- I know you'd like it, and if you don't want to we can always…"
"That'd be great, Pip. That'd be just right."
"You sounded like me, then," he said, and she laughed, smothering him in a hug so he wouldn't see the tears of love and happiness that clouded her eyes.